This invention relates to gates, doors and similar structures and the frames to which they are mounted. In particular, this invention relates to safety barriers for easy temporary installation across an opening such as a doorway or stairway, such barriers being the type generally used to prevent the passage of small children or animals.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,611,431, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, discusses safety barriers widely used as temporary installations in homes where infants or animals are present to prevent the infants or animals from entering a stairwell, leaving or entering a room, or similar types of access or activity. Such barriers are typically designed to be quickly installed and removed so that the restricted area can be readily shifted from one location to another and the barrier can be removed when the child or animal is not present. Since the typical home will have a number of passageways of varying widths, it is preferable to have an adjustable width closure or barrier which is readily adjustable for installation across passageways of various widths. In addition to spanning the width of the passageway, such barriers generally include a gate which is openable only by an adult to permit passage when the barrier is in place.
Another safety barrier is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,715 which also includes a pivoting gate.
The above closure mechanisms, while adequate for most purposes, have disadvantages which make their use less than ideal. The closure of U.S. Pat. 4,611,431, when tightened in the passageway, stresses the pivot hinge and bolt assembly unnecessarily, which may cause the mechanism to malfunction over extended use periods. Further, the bolt and nut assembly must be completely removed and reinstalled to adjust the closure width for varying passageway widths. The safety gate disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,715 also has the disadvantage that the locking of relative axial movement of the gate and barrier unnecessarily stresses the locking mechanism of the gate (lock and latch 48). There is no direct connection between the rails of the gate and the rails of the barrier to prevent relative axial movement between the gate and barrier.
It would be advantageous if a closure could be designed to have a pivoting gate and gate width adjustment locking mechanisms which are uncoupled from the mechanism which secures the closure apparatus into the passageway. It would further be advantageous if the width adjustment of the closure could be performed in an uncomplicated manner.